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#3: Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Luis Suarez has been a prolific goal-scorer during his six seasons in La Liga with Barcelona, and has scored 147 goals in 191 appearances in the competition.
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The Uruguayan, who has also tallied an impressive 74 assists in La Liga, is renowned for his technical ability, shooting prowess and his penchant for 'nutmegging' unsuspecting opponent defenders.
In 2015-16, Suarez outscored his illustrious compatriot Lionel Messi and netted 40 La Liga goals in the campaign. In the process, he became only the third player in the history of the competition to score more than 38 goals in a season.
Suarez, whose versatility allows him to be deployed in a bevvy of positions in the attacking third ranging from target man to second striker, has formed a formidable partnership with Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi.
#2: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid's premier striker Karim Benzema, who spent large parts of his Los Blancos career playing second fiddle to his illustrious former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, has stepped up after the Portuguese's departure by racking up successive 20-goal La Liga seasons.
Benzema, whose tally of 169 La Liga goals is the second-most by an active player in the competition, has scored in each of his 11 seasons in the Spanish top-flight, a feat that is bettered by only a handful of players.
The Frenchman is adept with either foot, and is renowned for his aerial prowess and composure in front of goal. Benzema's versatility, like many other players on this list, allows him to be played in a plethora of offensive positions ranging from winger, second striker or a number ten, although he prefers to play as a centre forward.
Benzema's 95 assists in La Liga is the most by any active player in the competition bar one - the one who is ahead of him in this list.
#1: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
What can be said about Lionel Messi that hasn't already been said! The talismanic Barcelona captain, who is one of the only one-club men in the game, is arguably one of the finest players to have graced a football field.
Messi, who started his career at Camp Nou in 2004, is the only player to have scored in 16 seasons (consecutive or otherwise) in La Liga. His tallies of 444 goals and 201 assists in La Liga are miles ahead of any other player in the competition.
In one of his below-par scoring seasons by his staggering standards, the diminutive Argentinian scored 25 goals, which was his lowest La Liga goal tally in a season since 2008-09 (23). But he provided a record 21 assists in yet another demonstration of his goal-scoring contribution par excellence.
Apart from his goal-scoring and goal-assisting prowess, Messi, unsurprisingly, holds a plethora of other records in La Liga, like most goals in a La Liga campaign (50), most hat-tricks and most free-kicks, to name a few.
Despite his short stature, which gives him a low centre of gravity, Messi is able to take on physically imposing opponents, thanks to his upper body strength, blistering pace and ability to dribble at pace.
Messi was on the verge of leaving Barcelona this summer but averted a potentially protracted wrangle with his club by deciding to stay on for another season and see out his contract. The departure of Messi, which appears to be a question of when and not if, would leave a gaping void in La Liga that may never be filled.
